Late Arrival

By Daryn Goodwin|July 16, 2012

By Chad Spezia

Although I would never complain about being in California, my day of travel didn’t go the smoothest. My hockey sticks didn’t make the trip here. That could very well be a sign that I shouldn’t play and maybe just work instead.

My attitude instantly changed when I walked into the Silver Creek Sportsplex this afternoon. The mite skills were going on and it was one of the better skills competitions I’ve seen. There were just as many if not more, people in the stands during the Mite Skills as the Narch Pro final gets. Granted, there were well over 100 kids participating but that’s still impressive. I would know this because I’ve seen firsthand how many people attend the Pro final since I’m never actually playing in it.

There were people 10 plus rows back just supporting their kids/team. I really scanned the stands and paid attention to the attitude and atmosphere of the event. There was no negativity going on. It was awesome! I speak for our entire staff when I say I hope it stays this way. The kids are having a blast. Normally, I am on the rink during skills but since I had just gotten here I was able to check out everything going on outside of the rink. The High Five sports bar was just booming!

The sponsorship booths are impressive as always. They are all great people here. Joe Cook and Jay Russell from Alkali are sitting here trying to figure out how to use Instagram correctly. It’s pretty comical! A couple months ago my family had Brad from Tour over for a BBQ, and he brought the Tour truck. Today, Tasha Labeda picked me up from the airport in the Labeda van. So I’ve now had the Tour truck in my driveway and curbside service from the Labeda van after my long flight. What a life!

Now I’m going to try and catch a few games and really get into the swing of things. If you’re not here, you’re missing out!